Pycnogenol®, your new beauty asset
Taking care of yourself and feeling beautiful allows you to shine daily. Beauty is not a question of image, but of well-being, a whole uniting the inside and the outside.
-Make nature a powerful beauty partner with pycnogenol®.
What is pycnogenol®?
Pycnogenol® is a 100% natural product of plant origin. It is a patented extract of maritime pine bark. This species of pine – Pinus Pinaster – grows in the Landes de Gascogne forest in southwest France. The trees are grown naturally, without any pesticides or herbicides. The originality of this ingredient does not stop at its source. Indeed, the composition of this extract is also unique thanks to a high concentration of procyanidins and bioflavonoids, two powerful antioxidants.
An ingredient with recognized benefits
With nearly 40 years of research, hundreds of clinical studies, and scientific publications, the benefits ofpycnogenol® are well studied. Pycnogenol® has many beneficial effects on the body and the skin. The skin is subjected to many aggressions related to active life, but also to pollution, tobacco, or UV rays. Moreover, with age, the skin loses its elasticity and hydration, and the first wrinkles appear.
How pycnogenol® acts on the health and appearance of the skin to gain vitality and beauty
What is the skin?
The skin is the largest organ of the body and is of considerable importance. It forms a protective barrier with the outside environment while reflecting our inner health. It is a complex structure composed of a superficial layer, the epidermis, containing cells responsible for the renewal of skin cells. The inner part is composed of the dermis and the hypodermis in which collagen fibers, blood vessels, and adipose tissue are present.
Pycnogenol® acts on the skin in depth
Studies have shown an increase in blood perfusion of the dermis after the consumption of pycnogenol®. This allows the skin layers to have a better oxygen supply, nutrient supply, and waste removal. Clinical trials have also shown that pycnogenol® increases the prevalence of oxygen, allowing the skin to gain vitality and beauty.
How does pycnogenol® reduce pigment intensity and brighten over pigmented skin?
What is melanin?
Each person has a skin color that depends on their phototype and sun exposure. Skin color is due to a pigment, melanin. Sometimes, melanocytes, which are the pigment cells of the skin, are out of order, resulting in a high concentration of melanin. As a result, brown spots appear on the surface of the skin.
Pycnogenol® homogenizes skin pigmentation
Studies have shown that the ingestion of 75 mg of pycnogenol® per day for 1 month significantly reduced pigment intensity. Pycnogenol® will lighten over pigmented skin while inhibiting the hormonal cascade responsible for pigment formation. In addition, pycnogenol® reduces by 50% the production of tyrosinase, an enzyme essential to melanin production.
How does pycnogenol® improve the skin's resistance against premature photoaging?
What is photoaging?
Photoaging is premature aging of the skin. It is caused by repeated exposure to violet rays, especially those of the sun. The areas most affected by this phenomenon are the face, hands, and neck. UV rays penetrate both the epidermis and the dermis where they damage collagen fibers and blood vessels. Pycnogenol® protects the skin against UV rays and neutralizes the free radicals generated by them. Free radicals are produced by the body during periods of stress and damage cells through an oxidation process.
Pycnogenol® protects the skin against UV radiation
Daily supplementation of 1.10 mg or 1.66 mg/kg of weight has been shown to reduce UV-induced erythema (redness of the skin). The effects are dose-dependent, meaning that the higher the dose of pycnogenol®, the greater the protective effect. The skin protection effects of pycnogenol® appear after 4-8 weeks of treatment. In summary, pycnogenol® improves and increases the skin’s resistance to UV and sun exposure.
How does pycnogenol® participate in skin hydration?
Synergistic action with hyaluronic acid
In addition to having a targeted action on certain skin parameters, pycnogenol® also has a synergistic action increasing hyaluronic acid synthesis. Hyaluronic acid is responsible for water retention in the skin’s layers. Thus, the more efficient the synthesis of hyaluronic acid is, the more hydrated the skin is. A clinical trial has shown that taking pycnogenol® increases skin hydration by 8%. In addition, pycnogenol® increases by 44% the gene expression of an enzyme responsible for the fixation of hyaluronic acid in the dermis after 12 weeks of treatment. Thus, skin hydration is improved.
Synergistic action with collagen
In addition to the effect on hyaluronic acid, after 12 weeks of treatment, pycnogenol® also increases the level of new type I collagen by 41% by acting on gene expression. Type I collagen represents 60 to 80% of dermal collagen in humans. As a result, skin elasticity is increased by about 25% after 6 weeks. A clinical study has shown that supplementation of 3 x 25 mg of pycnogenol® per day for 3 months significantly increases skin elasticity and hydration thanks to the action of pycnogenol® on the enzymatic cascade involved in collagen synthesis.
Synergistic action with elastase-type enzymes
Finally, pycnogenol® is a powerful inhibitor of the enzymes responsible for the degradation of dermal tissue proteins such as elastin. This protein allows the skin to regain its initial position when it is pinched, for example. By decreasing the enzymatic activity of degradation, the tissues of the skin are maintained longer.
Summary
Pycnogenol® provides numerous health benefits that make it a key ingredient for an optimal beauty routine. This high-quality patented natural product will reinforce the action of other known actives such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin. The skin gains elasticity, hydration, and vitality. All that’s left is for you to shine!
Key take-home messages
- Pycnogenol® is a 100% natural product of plant origin
- Pycnogenol® increases the vitality of your skin in depth
- Pycnogenol® homogenizes skin tone
- Pycnogenol® is an antioxidant that protects against photoaging
- Pycnogenol® acts in synergy with collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin
References
Belcaro et al., Venous ulcers: microcirculatory improvement and faster healing with local use of pycnogenol, 2005.
Belcaro et al., Diabetic ulcers: microcirculatory improvement and faster healing with Pycnogenol®, 2006.
Grether-Beck et al.,French Maritime Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol®) Effects on human skin: clinical and molecular evidence, 2016.
Grimm et al., Inhibition of NF-kappaB activation and MMP-9 secretion by plasma of human volunteers after ingestion of maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol®), 2006.
Kim et al., The anti-melanogenic effect of Pycnogenol® by its anti-oxidative actions, 2008.
Marini et al., Pycnogenol® effects on skin elasticity and hydration coincide with increased gene expressions of collagen type I and hyaluronic acid synthase in women, 2012.
Ni et al., Treatment of melasma with Pycnogenol®, 2002.
Saliou et al., Gene expression in keratinocytes are modu¬lated by a French maritime pine bark extract, 2001.